Getting ready for a new AC install

[92landyacht]

OK, so I've decided to go ahead and replace my front AC unit. The ole Penguin Duo-Therm unit has become less then reliable. I ordered a new Dometic Brisk II 15,000 BTU unit as a replacement. Total shipped to my house was $629 which included the top unit and the inside control panel.

Any tips on doing the replacement? I figure the hardest part will be getting the new unit on the roof of my 92 36' Land yacht. I have a 30' ladder that I'll lean against the roof top and slide the entire box up the ladder unless anyone else has other ideas. I'll be doing the replacement alone so other helping hands will not be an option. The wife can help some but she's definitely not going up on the roof. She really hates ladders for that mater.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by 92landyacht

OK, so I've decided to go ahead and replace my front AC unit. The ole Penguin Duo-Therm unit has become less then reliable. I ordered a new Dometic Brisk II 15,000 BTU unit as a replacement. Total shipped to my house was $629 which included the top unit and the inside control panel.

Any tips on doing the replacement? I figure the hardest part will be getting the new unit on the roof of my 92 36' Land yacht. I have a 30' ladder that I'll lean against the roof top and slide the entire box up the ladder unless anyone else has other ideas. I'll be doing the replacement alone so other helping hands will not be an option. The wife can help some but she's definitely not going up on the roof. She really hates ladders for that mater.

I use a similar method of sliding the entire box up a ladder, and I install 20-30 A/C units a year.

Just be very sure that the bottom of your ladder is secure, as it will want to lift as you pull up on the box and come crashing inward toward the coach wall. Also, place padding on the inner ladder rails where they touch the sidewall. Other than that, I hope your arms and shoulders are in great shape!

[SebasSF]

Those Guerrilla ladders are great for working on Airstreams...you can bend the top over and they have a nice wide base. I did mine with some help from my son, no problems.

I went with the low profile Dometic Penguin, and mr friend went with the Brisk. Every time he sees mine he says...man, mine looks ugly, wish I had gone Penguin!

[92landyacht]

Did some research and decided on the Brisk Air II for a few of reasons.

First off: the Brisk is a bit less expensive compared to the Penguin by several hundred dollars.

Second: I've heard of some issues recently with more noise and vibration with strong harmonics coming from the newer Penguin II units v/s the Brisk Air II. Something to do with the additional stress that the new "Green" refrigerant puts on the unit. Changes include (plastic inner housing, different type compressor, different type refrigerant 410 vs 134a) The Brisk Air II was designed for this as the Penguin was more or less retrofitted for it.

Third: The weight difference. Although not drastic, it does reduce about 25lbs on the roof.

I went with the 15,000 BTU to help with the larger front cabin area. I don't believe that a 15,000 BTU Penguin unit was available in 1992 so the Penguin was only 13, 500 BTUs at the time.

I do wish the Brisk was lower profile, but I can live with that since my MH isn't what I'd call pristine. Just needed a good dependable unit for summer months.

The old Penguin kept freezing up or showing under power when run for long periods of time. Needed something that could run for days on end without problems. I've verified the power feed and it was always above 116V when the "Low Power" light came on. Also had issues with the auto fan speed control messing up and the heating element never would come on even though the element checked out OK.

The last issue was with parts. As I was looking at doing some repairs on my Penguin I found that some key components like the main board were no longer available and those that still carried them were pricing them quite high. The inside plastics were looking a little dingy as well.

Figured the new Brisk II would have a long time of parts availability and a two year warranty to boot.

Any other gotchyas in the installation process? Anything I should be getting in advance? If everything looks like it should I figure it'll take about an hour to an hour and a half to remove and install. Already have the inside control disconnected.

My plan is to remove the top unit intact so I can use it as a spare for the back unit. Maybe sell it to someone needing a replacement on Craig's List.

[HiJoeSilver]

I plan on renting scaffold from HD when I do mine, a few dollars insurance that I don't drop it. A couple boards over from the platform to the roof to slide the ac over.

[DHart]

Out of curiosity, (hope you don't mind the side-track) anyone know what units Airstream is currently using on new models?

[rodsterinfl]

This is true. I cannot find the post on RV forum but a gentleman posted all sorts of details on the Penguin versus the newer design taller Brisk. This is where I got the info about the Penguin units using solid grommets instead of the older soft grommets. Apparently the sound travels through making them louder 2010 and newer I believe. It was originally part of the retrofit for the new type compressor for meeting the new refrigerant rules from EPA. That said, I do believe the penguins look better although in my case I'm not sure the sleek look matters as I got an ultra breeze fan vent cover.

[Schu]

Are you getting the AC with drip cups or using the old drain pan?

[55AS]

I replaced one years ago on a MH by backing it underneath a friends tall porch and climbing down to the roof.

[spclkaz]

I just had a new Dometic Penquin 1500 installed in my 94 Excella that replaced the original unit... but... as I am 65 years old... I just let the AS dealer there in Mesa AZ do it. They were not fast, but the cost of the unit and labor was reasonable and the replacement installation looks really good and pumps out the cold air just fine. My older AS only has one AC unit... which would not be enough here in the high heat of an Arizona climate which is why I seek out higher elevations or coastlines during the summer to beat the Arizona heat...

[steelbird312]

Please do not take Lewster's statement lightly. This is not a push it up lightly with one hand type operation. I have done this and am in pretty decent condition - still do house construction- and it is a good workout, taking one up and the other down.
I suggest taking the old one off first. That way, you will know what tools exactly you will need for the installation, how the old one is sealed, and if you get too tired in the process then you wont have two up there having a dance with each other.
When you start your install take everything up before you start the event to save multiple up and down trips.
Enjoy your satisfaction of a job well done when finished.

[DHart]

Originally Posted by SKP46015

I just had a new Dometic Penquin 1500 installed in my 94 Excella that replaced the original unit... but... as I am 65 years old... I just let the AS dealer there in Mesa AZ do it. They were not fast, but the cost of the unit and labor was reasonable and the replacement installation looks really good and pumps out the cold air just fine. My older AS only has one AC unit... which would not be enough here in the high heat of an Arizona climate which is why I seek out higher elevations or coastlines during the summer to beat the Arizona heat...

SKP... have you had other work done by DesertAutoplex also? What is your opinion of their shop and their work?

[92landyacht]

Originally Posted by Schu

Are you getting the AC with drip cups or using the old drain pan?

New unit arrived today!

Not sure mine even had a drip pan. The condensation water just seemed to run off the roof. No mention of the need for a drip pan with the new unit. Says it has an 3" deep drain pan as one of the "features".

[92landyacht]

Originally Posted by steelbird312

Please do not take Lewster's statement lightly. This is not a push it up lightly with one hand type operation. I have done this and am in pretty decent condition - still do house construction- and it is a good workout, taking one up and the other down.
I suggest taking the old one off first. That way, you will know what tools exactly you will need for the installation, how the old one is sealed, and if you get too tired in the process then you wont have two up there having a dance with each other.
When you start your install take everything up before you start the event to save multiple up and down trips.
Enjoy your satisfaction of a job well done when finished.

I was originally thinking of leaving the old unit up top till the new one was installed and running. That way if, for some reason, I have to reinstall the old one to seal the opening back up(new one not working) I didn't have to try to haul the old one back up. I may rethink this.

Looks like Wed or Thurs is the install day. Just depends on the weather forecast. I'll try to take pictures as I go.

[Bowmans]

My wife and I installed a new AC on our 1979 last summer. We backed the truck up to the side of the trailer which had the AC in the bed on a wood pallet. I put a couple of screws in the base of the AC through existing holes to the pallet so it was secured. I put a ladder in the back of the truck and leaned it onto the awning at about a 40 degree angle and wedged the bottom into the back of the truck bed, putting the pallet onto the lower part of the ladder like a sled. I tied a rope through the pallet, threw it over the camper and wrapped it around a tree on the other side of the camper. I then put myself, sitting right behind the top of the ladder with feet against the awning tube. I then slowly slid the AC up the ladder while my wife kept the rope tight (slightly loose but tight enough that if the AC came loose from my grip, it would go far). We got it up without any slipping. Since the ladder was sitting on the awning tube, the pallet came up and over the top of the roof fine. Once on the roof, I put towels underneath the pallet so no scratching the roof.

We also took the old AC down in pieces before we put the new one on the roof. I also removed the old inside bracket and test fit the new one just to make sure the hole was the right size before taking the old one off the roof. I didn't want to have a hole in the roof and a non-fitting AC to deal with. Being a skinny, 120 lb man, I was nervous about getting it onto the roof and went through the process over and over in head before hand. It went up so easy, I was surprised. Good luck.

[92landyacht]

The process you used is similar to what I'm thinking. I have a fence line about 15 feet from the side of the MH. I was going to put the base of my ladder down along that fence and then place the top of the ladder on the roof with padding where the ladder will contact the roof. Should give me about a 30 degree angle on the ladder. I'll tie a rope around the box and loop the rope over the top of the MH. My wife will be on the other side to help me up with it. Once the new AC is on the roof I'll unbox it. The entire top unit only weighs 74lbs so I don't think it's going to be too difficult to hoist it up. The old Penguin unit is going to be a little harder to wheel around but gravity is in my favor on that one. I figure once I know that the new unit is up and working I'll just slide the old one down the ladder with my wife on the rope to help steady it. Probably over thinking this. Not expecting any issues with the existing opening not fitting since both the old and new AC units are Dometic and specify the same opening size.

[mdritt]

I’m in the middle of a complete remodel on a 73 Overlander. I removed the original 200 lb AC with the integrated drip pan base. About 100 rivets on the roof to cut off and drill out, not counting the 20 or so miss-drills courtesy of the 70’s stoners that worked at the Cali AS factory. What a pain! In an attempt to exorcise a little frugality, I went with a Brisk II instead of the Penguin II that I wanted. I was never happy with the look, which was made worse with the additional ¾ inch in height from the auxiliary drain kit. The Brisk put out a lot of air in every direction except forward due to the poor design of the interior air handler. This shouldn’t be a problem using it as the front unit on your coach. Six weeks later, the vintage trailer gods reared their heads when the two year old Coleman on my Boles Aero died. So, I took this as a sign and ordered a Penguin II for the AS, ($620 delivered from RV Supply plus $106 for the ADB) and moved the Brisk to the Boles. Huge fun, I was so looking forward to getting back on top the AS. I’m much happier now, the Brisk looks fine on the big boxy Boles and the Penguin was a much better installation on the Overlander. The Brisk cools the 32 ft Boles much better than the Coleman Mach ever did, even with the issue with forward air movement. All these units were 13,500. The DB Meter app on my IPhone registers about 72 DB with both the Brisk and the Penguin on high cool. I’m fortunate that I have access to a tractor with a front loader attachment that took care of the lifting. Be careful with that ladder thing! The Brisk puts out plenty cold air and has three fan speeds. It should work fine for you.

[Bowmans]

92landyacht,
Sounds like you have a good plan. One thing I would watch out for is if the box the AC is in doesn't have something to keep it on the ladder, maybe get 2x4s and screw them to the edges of the box lengthwise so the box can't slide off the side of the ladder.

The new AC we installed was a low profile Mach II Coleman. We painted the shroud silver to match the camper. We're happy with it as it is much quieter than the 1979 box that was on it.

[92landyacht]

OK, the AC is installed. I didn't get the install pic I wanted to because the camera was in the wife's car.

Here's how it went: I unbolted everything that was holding the top unit on. Once the inside controls were disconnected, the only thing holding the top unit onto the roof was three very LONG bolts. Two at the front and one at the rear. Once those were out the inside frame was off and the top unit should just pull away. At least that's what I thought. The reality was, that after some 25 years of sitting on the roof, the gasket sealed it self to the fiberglass roof. I used a large putty knife and a hammer to go around the seal and break it loose. Seems that AS used some form of sealant tape along with the Dometic seal to bond the top unit to the roof. After going around everything I could reach I was able to break loose the unit from the roof but not without some minor fiberglass damage. Used some fiberglass repair resin and cloth to fix to minor rips in the fiberglass roof. Took about 30 minutes to repair my minor screw up.

There was NO drip pan between the original Dometic Penguin that needed to be removed or reused on my 1992 36' Land yacht.

I used an extension ladder to get the old unit down. Not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Getting the new unit up top wasn't that hard either. Just don't unbox it until you get it up. It slide up the ladder fairly easily. Once it was started I simply used my head to push it up while using my hands to steady it. Took all of 15 minutes to get the old one down and the new one up.

I unboxed the new top unit and used the bottom cardboard piece to slide it to the opening. Once there I just tilted the unit up on it's rear side and positioned it in line with the opening. I laid it down and matched it up as best as I could. I then went inside and was able to get it exactly centered by pushing up and moving it in place.

The opening from the original unit was a perfect fit for the new one. The original electrical supplied was perfect as well. The new inside unit is slightly wider but also shorter at the front so some of the impressions from the original inside unit are visible.

I found that AS didn't do a great job at framing out the original opening. The left a pretty large gap of no framing between the top a bottom luan. I used some 1.5" x 3/4" hardwood to finish out the framing to provide better clamping along the seal area.

All and all it was a fairly easy job. I was able to take the original unit down without any damage. Once fired up on the generator the new 15000 btu unit cooled the front of our 36' AS down to 71 degrees from 80 degrees in less then 20 minutes. Not as loud as our original unit either. Not supper quiet but not so loud you can hear the TV when on full fan. Yes, the look is not stock from the outside, but quite frankly I care less about that then functionality.

Total cost delivered to my door... $629.00. Everything needed was included. Top unit, inside controls and all mounting hardware. Now I have a working AC with a 2 year warranty and piece of mind. Can't beat that.

When the wife gets home I'll see if I can take some pics.

[Bowmans]

Congrats! Glad the install was relatively uneventful. I had forgotten until you just mentioned but the framing wasn't very good in ours between the aluminum outside and inside skin either and we had to reinforce as well.